Romenesko Misc.Dorothy Parvaz, a 2009 Nieman Fellow, hasn’t been heard from since she landed in Damascus on assignment on April 29. Syrian officials have informed Al Jazeera that they're holding her. “The Nieman family is deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague," says Nieman Foundation curator Bob Giles. "The foundation has joined with many others in the quest for her release from detention by Syrian officials." || Check out the Free Dorothy Parvaz page on Facebook.

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Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard calls for release of journalist Dorothy Parvaz in Syria

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard is calling for information and assistance in obtaining the release of journalist Dorothy Parvaz, a 2009 Nieman Fellow, who is being held in Syria.

Parvaz, who works for Al Jazeera, hasn’t been heard from since she landed in Damascus on assignment on Friday, April 29. Syrian officials have informed the news organization that they are holding her.

Nieman Foundation curator Bob Giles said, “The Nieman family is deeply concerned about the safety of our colleague, Dorothy Parvaz. The foundation has joined with many others in the quest for her release from detention by Syrian officials. We welcome any information we can share in the hope that it will be helpful to resolving the situation quickly.”

Giles added that he is troubled about the growing number of attacks on journalists working worldwide, whether though actual physical assaults or governmental interference and threats. “It’s crucial that we protect and preserve our journalists’ autonomy and ability to report freely,” he said.

Parvaz, an American, Canadian and Iranian citizen, joined Al Jazeera in 2010. A spokesman for the news organization said, “We are worried about Dorothy’s welfare, security and safety. Syria should release her immediately.”

The Nieman Foundation has posted information about Parvaz’s disappearance on its websites and is in touch with Nieman Fellows and other journalists in the Middle East as part of a growing effort to reach authorities who might intercede with the Syrian government, as well as to obtain information on what has happened to Parvaz.

Kristen Young, a colleague who worked with Parvaz at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, said she obtained this quote from J. J. Harder, the press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus: “Ambassador (Robert) Ford met with a senior Syrian official about the issue of Ms. Dorothy Parvaz and he asked for more information and consular access.”

Hannah Allam, Parvaz’s Nieman classmate and Middle East bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers, says “Al Jazeera really goes to bat for its journalists, so I’m sure the channel is doing all it can … Perhaps just posting the news story about her disappearance and spreading awareness is good at this point.”

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

From 1999 to 2011, Jim Romenesko maintained the Romenesko page for the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based non-profit school for journalists. Poynter hired him in August of 1999, after seeing his MediaGossip.com, a hobby site he started in May of 1999.